just wondering if iwork 08 is a better overall package than microsoft office for any specific task?
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iWork 08 better than Microsoft Office?
- Thread starter matthewcap
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Yes, but Numbers is grossly inadequate for most professional tasks compared to Excel.
Word>Pages
Powerpoint<Keynote
Excel>Numbers
Outlook - no equivalent
Word>Pages
Powerpoint<Keynote
Excel>Numbers
Outlook - no equivalent
Numbers is better for home users in general, as the layout is a lot more fluid than Excel, it is great for small spreadsheets.
However it is unsuitable for advanced home users like A Level Science students as it has less features than Excel.
However it is unsuitable for advanced home users like A Level Science students as it has less features than Excel.
Those two may ring true for you, but not for me. I am happier with Mail than I was with Outlook, and Leopard's mail looks awesome. Also Pages is speedy to start up (I know Word is not Universal, but '08 will still be a heavier load than Pages) and great for my school notes. I like the integration with the OS and other Apple apps especially
Exactly, you are using Pages for "notes." If that's all that you are using either app for, then sure, Pages is just fine.
But for more advanced users who need advanced features, Word is still king. Pages is for basic word processing students and Mom & Pop. Word is far more powerful.
And like you said, Word isn't universal. Once it is in 2008, I'm sure it'll be pretty slick
Yes, but that is what a large amount of Apple customers are...Students, Mom and Pop...NeoOffice does the things I need but Pages does not offer, very few people need anything beyond that...
Or most business majors that took upper level accounting/finance courses
Business majors are advanced home users by my definition too, as A-levels are taken by 18 year olds still at school
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Sorry mate, not knowledgeable enough about the British school systemBusiness majors are advanced home users by my definition too, as A-levels are taken by 18 year olds still at school
Sorry mate, not knowledgeable enough about the British school system
There are so many British people on the forum I forget that not everyone is an expert
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Blech. "Powerful" is an utterly meaningless word in this context. I've been using Pages for all of my business word processing since v. 1.0. Mom and pop. Blech!
I prefer Pages over Word.
I almost exclusively work with Word documents created by others Windows user, that have "Track changes" enabled. I take those documents, and format them for the Web. Obviously that involves a lot of copying/pasting. I like how Pages gets the deleted text out of the main document, and onto the side. In Word, if I have a paragraph with 4 changes, I have to copy/paste 5 blocks of text. Or do them all at once, delete the extra stuff, and hope to God I got it right. In pages, I can copy just one block.
Numbers, on the other hand, is completely useless for my needs. It's spreadsheet functionality is fine, but it work with (database type) data is horrible. Importing ASCII files fails almost constantly. NeoOffice and Excel work fine in this area.
I would have purchased iWork if I could work in Office document formats. I often have to make changes to the docs I get, send them back to the originator... Rinse and repeat multiple times.
To do this in iWork, I have to save it as a iWork document, then export every time I want to share it back with the Windows user. Too much converting/exporting for me, and it slows down my work-flow. With NeoOffice (and obviously MS Office) I can work in native Office formats.
So, despite preferring Pages, I stick with MS Office and NeoOffice, just to avoid all the exporting.
I almost exclusively work with Word documents created by others Windows user, that have "Track changes" enabled. I take those documents, and format them for the Web. Obviously that involves a lot of copying/pasting. I like how Pages gets the deleted text out of the main document, and onto the side. In Word, if I have a paragraph with 4 changes, I have to copy/paste 5 blocks of text. Or do them all at once, delete the extra stuff, and hope to God I got it right. In pages, I can copy just one block.
Numbers, on the other hand, is completely useless for my needs. It's spreadsheet functionality is fine, but it work with (database type) data is horrible. Importing ASCII files fails almost constantly. NeoOffice and Excel work fine in this area.
I would have purchased iWork if I could work in Office document formats. I often have to make changes to the docs I get, send them back to the originator... Rinse and repeat multiple times.
To do this in iWork, I have to save it as a iWork document, then export every time I want to share it back with the Windows user. Too much converting/exporting for me, and it slows down my work-flow. With NeoOffice (and obviously MS Office) I can work in native Office formats.
So, despite preferring Pages, I stick with MS Office and NeoOffice, just to avoid all the exporting.
Of the three iWork components, Keynote is the oldest and most mature. Keynote in iWork '08 is 4.0. I think most anyone would agree that Keynote is superior to PowerPoint.
Pages is the next oldest. It's at 3.0, and it's showing real promise. I think it could replace Word for most home and home-office users.
Numbers in iWork '08 is a version 1.0 release. Compared to Excel, it's a pretty toy. Perhaps iWork '11 will have a mature spreadsheet.
Pages is the next oldest. It's at 3.0, and it's showing real promise. I think it could replace Word for most home and home-office users.
Numbers in iWork '08 is a version 1.0 release. Compared to Excel, it's a pretty toy. Perhaps iWork '11 will have a mature spreadsheet.
Yeah, I really like the way Pages handles comments too. One thing that's lacking (at least in version 2) is something like a "Next Comment" button, of the sort that appears on the Word Reviewing toolbar. Anyone know if this is something added in the new version of Pages?
I sincerely don't believe that.
for OP, you need to tell us what you need to do with office suite so people can pick a choice for you.
if you are not sure what you gonna do with the app, then go with M$ Office, its better you have the functions that you MIGHT use in the future, than someday find out the stuff can't meet your need.
All these comments about Office suiting "professionals" and iWork suiting "Mum and Pop" annoy me.
I am a professional. I work with Boards, C-level execs, and functional managers in predominantly Windows/Office clients.
Apart from an occasional pivot table and even more occasional macro I do not need the so-called advanced features in Office. I find them (or rather I find the unnecessarily confused interface) distracting and a hindrance.
So I use Pages, Keynote and Numbers for fast, high-quality reports and other materials where the priority is to convey messages clearly and attractively so the audience reads and understands the contents.
Yes Office can be made to do those things, but I find iWork much easier and much faster - the three iWork applications are much better for my needs than Office (both Mac and Windows versions).
That said, I do keep copies of Mac and Win Office for the rare occasions I need "advanced" features, and so I can open Office files that use those features.
(As an aside, in my experience - 20+ years using spreadsheets and word processors - many people over-use advanced features in both Word and Excel when simpler approaches are as effective and easier for others to maintain and modify.)
I will get off my soapbox now.
In reply to the OP, in *my* opinion iWork is much better than Office if you want to produce clear, attractive documents quickly (Office can do this, but only with some effort and workarounds). Office is more suitable than iWork for back-office number crunching and for writing technical documents that must adhere to academic standards (iWork can do both of these but only with some effort and some workarounds). Office is also suitable for people who like coding macros.
I am a professional. I work with Boards, C-level execs, and functional managers in predominantly Windows/Office clients.
Apart from an occasional pivot table and even more occasional macro I do not need the so-called advanced features in Office. I find them (or rather I find the unnecessarily confused interface) distracting and a hindrance.
So I use Pages, Keynote and Numbers for fast, high-quality reports and other materials where the priority is to convey messages clearly and attractively so the audience reads and understands the contents.
Yes Office can be made to do those things, but I find iWork much easier and much faster - the three iWork applications are much better for my needs than Office (both Mac and Windows versions).
That said, I do keep copies of Mac and Win Office for the rare occasions I need "advanced" features, and so I can open Office files that use those features.
(As an aside, in my experience - 20+ years using spreadsheets and word processors - many people over-use advanced features in both Word and Excel when simpler approaches are as effective and easier for others to maintain and modify.)
I will get off my soapbox now.
In reply to the OP, in *my* opinion iWork is much better than Office if you want to produce clear, attractive documents quickly (Office can do this, but only with some effort and workarounds). Office is more suitable than iWork for back-office number crunching and for writing technical documents that must adhere to academic standards (iWork can do both of these but only with some effort and some workarounds). Office is also suitable for people who like coding macros.
i have to disagree here. if they don't know what they need, there is a trial for both iwork and m$ office. or they could try out some free office suites
well, sometimes trying for 30 days can't tell you what you gonna do with it in next two years... that was my point.
Although you are right, if you really don't know what you use an office suite for now, then getting iWork will be fine as you almost certainly won't need the advanced features of Office, unless you do a lot of spreadsheet work.
I like Pages better than Word, Keynote WAY better than Powerpoint, and Numbers is good for little things.
Keynote looks better than power point . but powerpoint has powerfull features. Like ready tables or shapes ( i m not talkin about triangles and stars ) Like hierarchy tables or others ( i dont remember now but I could not find in KEynote ) For students who make every week presentations ( not the very basic ones ) powerpoint would be a better option . ( Office 2007 )
Superiorty of Excel and Word is out of disccussion for me. ( AGAIN FOR ME ! )
Superiorty of Excel and Word is out of disccussion for me. ( AGAIN FOR ME ! )